I’m almost there. . .pant, pant.  I can see it in the distance.  

This morning I’m startting Revision #4 (out of 5) for my latest mystery., which is due December 15th.  I was up till way past midnight last night inputting all the corrections  from revision #3.  And on and on until it’s finished.  And it WILL be finished and sent on time.  This puppy is going into expressmail by 6pm Friday 12/14. 

These are MY revisions, folks.  Before I submit the manuscript.  Who knows what the editor will want to do farther down the line.

Writing fiction is a process.  Everyone has a different approach and what works for one writer doesn’t for another.  I think that’s the way it’s supposed to be.  We’re all individuals.  For me, I have to start by telling the story.  Just ”getting it on the page.”  That’s the purely creative part of novel writing. 

Ahhhhhh, but then there’s another part.  Revisions.  And boy. . .are they important.  Revisions are where you take a hard analytical look at the story you’ve written.  That’s when you see the problems.  Any story logic or plotting mistakes jump right up in your face.  That’s revision #1 for me.  It’s the biggest, the hardest, and the longest.  Takes a long time.  The second time through, amazingly—other problems or confusing passages will jump right up and bite you.  So, you fix those. 

One would think it would be all nice and neat by revision #3, right?  Not.  Revision #3 is where the more subtle problem passages will finally get your attention.  Problem passages, you say?  Those are places where you didn’t write clearly enough to explain what was happening or a character was thinking.  Paragraphs, sentences, sometimes whole scenes have to be re-written or eliminated, quite often because of the changes you’ve made in #1 & #2.  Oh, yeah.

By the time you get to revision #4 (today), you’re hoping that you’ve caught everything that needs catching.  But if you haven’t, believe me, they will jump up and shout and you can–once again–re-write those sections or sentences or. . .sigh, those pages.  Hopefully, by revision #5, you’re fine-tuning.  A word here, a phrase there.  Whatever buzzes.

Writing fiction under deadlines takes a lot of effort.  It definitely requires all your concentration (even if you’re sick or tired or stressed or sad or whatever).  The reason we novelists do it (or at least, I do) is because we love telling our stories.  And this is what’s involved in telling our stories and getting them “out there” to the readers.  It’s work, yes, but it’s joyous work because we LOVE sharing our characters with others.

Every job on this planet, no matter how prestigious or exciting or boring, has its tedious aspects.  For me, entering corrections from all those revisions into the computer is the tedious part.  Boring, but necessary.  Ya gotta do it.

So that’s why I’m late posting today.  And that’s why I’ll be squirrelled away today revising.  We’ve got a big snowstorm moving through Colorado, dropping another six inches of Colorado Powder on top of the five inches we already had.  Look out folks, it’s coming your way. 

But the sun’s coming out this weekend, and this Saturday, I’ll be on a plane heading Back East to spend the holidays with two of my daughters, Christine + family in NoVa and Melissa in New York City.  And boy oh boy oh boy—-do I plan to celebrate. 

Holiday celebrations and fun are waiting. . .in the distance.  Almost here.  Enjoy, folks.